The Nanterre court on Friday March 25 canceled the proceedings against three people tried for "
fraud
" and Axa Bank tried for "
complicity in fraud
" because of the "
unreasonable delay
" of the 30-year-old procedure, learned the AFP at the court of Nanterre.
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The court “
noted the unreasonable delay of the procedure
”, which lasted 30 years, from the filing of the initial civil party complaint in April 1992 to the present day.
However, these circumstances “
undermine the right to be judged within a reasonable time in the context of a fair trial
” and also “
an irreparable breach of the rights of the defence
”.
The facts date back to the end of the 1980s. From 1986 to 1991, a French financial intermediary, supported by a notary and a bank manager, now aged 79, 80 and 83 respectively, offered French savers mortgage loans issued by the bank of Antwerp, then bought by the company which became Axa Bank, the banking subsidiary of Axa.
The mortgages were covered by authentic deeds, which is why the notary is accused of having thus made forgeries in authentic writing, recalled the court.
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"Defense Boiler Room"
After nearly thirty years of proceedings, this case was referred to the Nanterre court by a judgment of the Versailles investigating chamber in March 2019. The three defendants were dismissed for "
fraud by fraudulent maneuvers
" and "
false in private writes
".
Axa Bank was dismissed for "
complicity in fraud
" and "
complicity in forgery in private writings
".
"
The judicial judge, still and always guardian of public freedoms
", reacted on Twitter one of the lawyers of the procedure Me Vincent Nioré, who did not wish to make more comment to AFP, "
before reading the decision
”.
In January 2021, the same court decided to cancel the entire 20-year investigation procedure in the so-called "
Defence Boiler Room
" corruption case , considering that the defendants' right to be tried within a reasonable time had not been respected and had undermined the defense of two of the main defendants, because of "
disorders linked to old age and their state of health
".
The prosecution had appealed this decision but the Versailles Court of Appeal confirmed in September the cancellation of the proceedings and rejected the requests of the general prosecutor's office, which then appealed in cassation.
The appeal is heard by the Court on Wednesday.